Some of these learning exercises can get weird though, such as the one involving feet. The cast of Aquarion are a neurotic bunch for sure, each being a bigger head-case than the next, but a great part of their training as the chosen Elements of Aquarion often involves learning about themselves and each other, rather than combat. This makes things interesting, as the emotional conditioning of these characters tie nicely with Aquarion’s combat prowess.
Sexual undertones aside, the various forms and attacks of Aquarion are a reflection of the bond and connection between its pilots. After all, a mech being piloted by three people requires teamwork, and nothing says teamwork like intense,fiery passion between three people. The reason why a mech powered by love, sex, and puberty ends up making sense is because it ties nicely with the character’s personalities and their relationships. In fact every time the characters talk about merging to form Aquarion, they’re really just talking about sex. One of the episodes deals with a character becoming “addicted” to merging, with his condition being treated as a sex addiction in every sense. The interesting thing is though, Aquarion has all these heavy yet subtle sexual innuendos without having to resort to any of the ecchi fan service… now that takes a lot of talent. The sensation that the pilots feel when they merge together is damn near sexual and often described as something akin to an orgasm. In fact, when the three Vector fighter jets merge together to form Aquarion, the merge and transformation isn’t badass like it is in Voltron, but rather it is depicted to be… sensual. In fact, the character progression runs parallel to all the mecha action, and they both complement each other quite well.Īquarion is about a legendary mech that is powered by relationships between its pilots, and the love and passion they exude. Aquarion feels like a mix of the two, as there is a self aware world (none of the heavy politics, but a lot of mythology) and a great deal of focus on character development and relationships. Gundam was all about overarching politics and technology, Neon Genesis was very much character driven and placed the onus on the mental condition of its cast. Aquarion was a fairly ambitious project to create something that would become a legend in its own right, and while the sands of time haven’t been as kind to Aquarion as they have been to Gundam and Neon Genesis, Aquarion still manages to deliver a mecha anime that stands out in its execution.
Of course that’s a generalisation, there’s been some cool standout series like Gurren Lagann but not every mecha anime dares to be so unique and daring. Gundam and Neon Genesis Evangelion are timeless classics and every time you try to watch some other mecha anime, you can’t help but feel like they try too hard to capture their magic instead of trying something new.
Mecha anime has a few legends that nearly everyone knows about and nearly every anime creator tries to emulate. Journey to the West (Of Japan) Travelogue.
0 kommentar(er)
